Saya menunjukkan kartu anggota saya kepada pegawai perpustakaan.

I show my membership card to the library staff.

Breakdown of Saya menunjukkan kartu anggota saya kepada pegawai perpustakaan.

• saya: I
• saya: my
• menunjukkan: to show
• kartu anggota: the membership card
• kepada: to
• pegawai perpustakaan: the library staff

Questions & Answers about Saya menunjukkan kartu anggota saya kepada pegawai perpustakaan.

How is the verb menunjukkan structured and what does it mean?

Menunjukkan comes from the root tunjuk (to point/show) with the prefix me- and the suffix -kan, making it a transitive verb meaning “to show (something to someone)”. The -kan often indicates that you are causing someone to receive or experience the action—in this case, causing someone to see what you’re pointing out.

Why is the pronoun saya used twice in the sentence?

The first Saya is the subject (“I”), and the second saya is a possessive pronoun (“my”), specifying whose membership card it is. Indonesian places possessive pronouns after the noun they modify, so kartu anggota saya = “my membership card.”

Could you omit the second saya and still be understood?

Yes, in a clear context you could say
• Saya menunjukkan kartu anggota kepada pegawai perpustakaan.
But dropping saya means you no longer explicitly mark possession. If it’s obviously your own card, it’s fine; otherwise it’s clearer to keep kartu anggota saya.

Why do we use kepada before pegawai perpustakaan and not just ke?

Kepada is the preposition for indicating the recipient of an action when that recipient is a person or group.
• ke is more for physical direction (“to” a place).
• kepada is “to” in the sense of “to someone.”
Hence, menunjukkan ... kepada pegawai perpustakaan = “show [it] to the library staff.”

What’s the difference between pegawai perpustakaan and pustakawan?

• Pustakawan is the formal term for a librarian, often implying professional qualification.
• Pegawai perpustakaan is more general—any library employee or staff member, not necessarily a certified librarian.

What does kartu anggota literally mean, and how is that compound formed?

Literally kartu = “card,” anggota = “member.” Together kartu anggota = “membership card.” In Indonesian, nouns can form compounds simply by placing one after the other, often with the first noun modifying the second.

What is the typical word order in this sentence, and can it change?

Default Indonesian word order is SVO for transitive verbs:
Subject (Saya) – Verb (menunjukkan) – Object (kartu anggota saya) – Indirect Object (kepada pegawai perpustakaan).
You can rearrange for emphasis, e.g.
• Saya menunjukkan kepada pegawai perpustakaan kartu anggota saya,
but that places extra focus on pegawai perpustakaan.

How would you make this sentence passive?

You can turn it into passive with the prefix di- on the verb:
• Kartu anggota saya ditunjukkan kepada pegawai perpustakaan.
= “My membership card was shown to the library staff.”

Is there a simpler synonym for menunjukkan?

Yes: memperlihatkan also means “to show” or “to let someone see.” It’s me- + per- + lihat (to see) + -kan. Both are common, but they have slightly different nuances:
• menunjukkan often implies pointing something out,
• memperlihatkan emphasizes making something visible.

Why not say “I show my member card to the librarian” in English word order when translating literally?

While English is SVO (“I show my membership card to the librarian”), Indonesian follows the same SVO pattern, so the literal translation is fine. Just remember:
• Possessive pronouns come after the noun in Indonesian,
• Use kepada for “to [someone],”
• And the verb must carry me-/-kan to be properly transitive.